 Monday morning I'll be joined by Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Auburn Deputy Mayor Larry Brown and Councilmembers Yolanda Trout-Manuel, Kate Baldwin, Cheryl Rakes and Hanan Amer to formally recognize the opening of Don's Place, an emergency housing solution in Auburn.
Don's Place represents years of coordinated effort between state, regional, county and city governments and organizations to build permanent housing in King County. The journey began in 2021 when King County purchased the Clarion Inn in Auburn, an $11.8 million transaction made possible by the Health Through Housing Initiative, a regional approach to addressing chronic homelessness.
The building can house over 100 people experiencing chronic homelessness, with most units slated for Auburn residents. A few people began moving in in 2022, and while the current occupancy is about 26, new residents are scheduled to move in as quickly as possible – faster than it has been!
The City of Auburn's housing priority is to move folks ready for housing out of the Ray of Hope, Sundown Overnight Shelter, or the safe parking program and into Don's Place. As I hope you can understand, Don's Place is an essential piece of our commitment – that those in shelters should be prioritized and rewarded for doing what was asked of them. We believe in this approach in our fight against homelessness.
Don Castro
The building is also a tribute to Auburn legend Don Castro, who was born in Auburn, California in 1942, and died in Auburn, Washington in 2020.
He was a “grandfather” out on the streets, caring for others, no matter their walk of life, and he was loved by all who knew him. He loved to joke. He loved to laugh. And most importantly, he loved to help people, however he could.
This building is a representation of the compassion Don showed each and every day. It's lucky to share his name.
📅 Monday, Jan. 29
🕐 11 a.m.
📍 Don's Place, 9 16th St NW
 The City of Auburn is proud and excited to announce we're hosting cartoonist, activist and speaker Vishavjit Singh at the Auburn Community and Event Center Wednesday evening.
Singh is a New York City based cartoonist, TEDx & DEI speaker, performance artist and creator of www.Sikhtoons.com. His keynote address "Embracing Our Stories and Superhero Within" will help us learn through our stories as we struggle to understand our past and build on a better future.
Armed with his Captain America persona, Singh travels across the nation hosting talks and keynotes on identity, bias, vulnerability and the power of storytelling in schools, universities, government agencies, companies including Google, Amazon, Apple, NASA & & Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. His message and work has been covered by a number of news outlets, including the Seattle Times, New York Times, NPR, BBC, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, The Guardian, and Time Magazine.
 This event is an example of the type of work we're doing at the City to bring culturally diverse programming to our residents.
Please mark your calendar, and use the link below to attend this special -- and FREE -- community event.
📅 Monday, Jan. 29
🕐 6 p.m.
📍 Auburn Community and Event Center, 910 Ninth St. SE
🎟️ Register (Free)
 The Auburn Symphony Orchestra held it's "Link Up" event for Auburn School District and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe fourth graders Tuesday morning and it's safe to say, it was a roaring success.
 Many of the children came packed and ready with their recorders and played right alongside the symphony. This year's event was themed around "moving," so when the dancers came on stage, you know the kids were happy to express their enjoyment, too.
 It makes me so happy seeing two great Auburn organizations -- the school district and the symphony -- coming together to introduce our youngest residents to the joys of music. The symphony does a wonderful job making the show engaging and fun for the students, and the school district and tribe deserve kudos for making learning an instrument so involving!
Creative Writing for Teens Workshop at Postmark
Develop your storytelling skills as we learn about creating exciting plots, interesting characters and rich dialogue. We will learn how to use literary devices and emotive language to help readers picture what is happening and feel what characters are feeling. We will practice several genres of writing including fantasy, biography, science and historical fiction and poetry forms. Come join us for a good time of writing and sharing!
Ages: 12 - 19 years
Fee: $10/$12 Resident/Non-Res
Instructor: Katrinna Fischer
📅 Thursday, Jan. 11 - Thursday, Feb. 1
🕐 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts, 20 Auburn Ave.
🎟️ Register online
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New Sensation - Tribute to INXS
New Sensation is a Seattle based tribute to INXS that captures the high-energy late 80s/early 90s vibe of INXS. Performing INXS' greatest hits, New Sensation re-creates the sights and sounds of INXS with hits like "What You Need", "Need You Tonight", "Devil Inside", "Never Tear Us Apart", "Suicide Blonde" and, of course, "New Sensation!" Founded in 2018,New Sensation - a Tribute to INXS consists of Andy Brodigan (of Drastic Down and Soul Stripper), Doug Cisler (of Hysteria, Dr Crüe, and Anthem), Dusty Dunkle (of the Lovecats, Nothings Shocking, and Sun King), Greg McGwire (of Mysterious Ways and Sun King), and Rico Ybarra (of Mysterious Ways and Sun King). These five seasoned musicians bring an over the top, high energy live show every time they hit the stage.
📅 Saturday, Jan. 27
🕐 7:30 p.m.
📍 Green River College Student Affairs Building, 12401 SE 320th St. Campus Event Center Parking (PDF) Driving Directions (PDF)
🎟️ Buy Tickets (Regular: $23 Student/Senior: $20)
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Auburn Symphony: Love and Legends
This lavish program features some of the world’s most epic and heartfelt music. Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird takes you on a journey through the Russian folktale of a hero, Ivan Tsarevich, who battles the sorcerer Kashchei with the help of a mythical firebird.
Lauded for his “haunting lyrical grace” (Gramophone), violist Jordan Bak joins ASO for Bela Bartok’s Concerto for Viola.
ASO is also pleased to present the Washington State premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain Suite, a co-commissioned project with 37 other orchestras across the country inspired by Charles Frazier’s novel. The concert opens with Richard Strauss’s virtuosic tone poem, Don Juan, where the orchestra is pushed to its limits as it spins adventure and love themes across a wide sonic palate.
📅 Sunday, Jan. 28
🕐 2:30 p.m.
📍 Auburn Performing Arts Center, 702 4th St. NE
🎟️ Buy Tickets ($42 -- $37 seniors, $12 students)
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Ukelele for Adults at Postmark
Ukulele is a fantastic intro instrument! It’s a wonderful option for anyone wanting to have some fun making music. In this class you can expect to learn the basics of the ukulele, some popular songs, chord reading, and how to play as a group. Students should plan to bring their own ukulele (soprano or concert size) if possible. All course materials will be provided during classes.
Ages: 18+, Mixed
Fee: $70/$88 Resident/Non-Res
Instructor: Allison Preisinger
📅 Wednesday, Jan. 31
🕐 6 p.m.
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts, 20 Auburn Ave.
🎟️ Register ($70/$88 Resident/Non-Res)
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Beginning Drawing 2 at Postmark
In this drawing class, we will form the body around an armature and learn to construct the shape of skin and muscle. This crash-course lesson will strengthen your skills in posing and the shape of the body. Recommended to take "The body's proportion" as a precursor to this class, but not required. Bring your own paper and drawing implements.
Ages: 12+, Mixed
Fee: $16/$20 Resident/Non-Res
Instructor: Amanda Jenkinson
📅 Thursday, Feb. 1
🕐 5:30 p.m.
📍 Postmark Center for the Arts, 20 Auburn Ave.
🎟️ Register ($16/$20 Resident/Non-Res)
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